Decision and indecision in warfare

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Stalin's Indecision at the German Invasion in World War II

Germany invaded the Soviet Union with a surprise attack on 22 June 1941, in defiance of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. Codenamed "Operation Barbarossa," Hitler massed the greatest army in the history of the world – more than 3 million men. It was a shock to Stalin, who refused to believe it could happen, despite repeated warnings. In part due to this disbelief and indecision, the Germans made impressive early gains. Despite those, Operation Barbarossa was a failure by the end of January 1942.

Stalin Ignores Warnings

Stalin was warned repeatedly about the upcoming German invasion. He refused to believe it. His intelligence services warned him, the British warned him, the Americans warned him, but he steadfastly refused to allow his commanders to prepare defences. He was convinced Germany would finish its war with Britain before opening another front. He also distrusted British sources, believing that they wanted to incite a war between Germany and the USSR. As a result, Soviet border troops were not put on alert and were simply unprepared for the German attack.

Red Army

The Red Army was already paralysed by Stalin's Great Purge. From 1936 to 1938, Stalin killed or jailed many competent military leaders. Around 30,000 Red Army members were executed, with even more sent to Siberia and replaced with politically reliable, though inexperienced soldiers. In 1941, 75% of the officers had held their positions for less than a year. They were ill-trained and reluctant to take initiative. They would not act without a direct order for fear of the firing squad. Stalin's officers were better politicians than tacticians.

Initial Defeats

As a result, the Red Army sustained heavy initial losses. They were slow to react to the German advance. Officers had to ask for permission to return fire. The Soviet Air Force was destroyed en masse. Stalin continued to waffle. He remained stunned by Hitler's violation of the nonaggression pact as well as by the heavy losses of early days and rapid German advance – as much as 20 miles a day. While the Red Army fought fiercely – many fearing the firing squad as much as a German occupation – units were ill-equipped and badly-deployed. Germans destroyed and rounded up vast numbers of prisoners.

Outcome

Though the Soviets recovered from near-disaster, Operation Barbarossa wounded both Germans and Soviets alike and itt mired the Germans in a war on the Eastern Front. Germany's inability to achieve its goals allowed the Soviets to counterattack, reclaiming lost lands but also pushing further into German territory. Operation Barbarossa laid the foundation for the Soviets to fight to Berlin itself, leading to the fall of Nazism and an end to the war. Though the Soviets were able to ultimately prevail, Stalin's early indecision cost millions of lives and untold destruction; a war which could have been over much more quickly dragged on and left Western Europe shattered and financially exhausted; this in turn led to Britain abandoning it's empire, which at it's height ruled a quarter of the population of the world.

Croesus Elphinstone Johnson Guy de Lusignon

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